Friday, March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility, a special holiday recognized all over the world to celebrate the many accomplishments of transgender and gender non-conforming folks. It's also a day to raise awareness for the work that still needs to be done in order to save trans lives. Now that the trans community has become more visible than ever before, it's important to come out and show your support. Many organizations like Trans Student Educational Resources encourage everyone to celebrate the day by having open discussions, creating direct actions, and spreading knowledge about the trans community from wherever you are.
Being an ally to trans and non-binary people is super important. According to the TSER, "with more visibility comes more understanding." As they've found, 80 percent of trans students feel unsafe at school because of their gender expression, nearly 60 percent of gender non-conforming students have been verbally harassed in the past year, and nearly 50 percent have been physically abused. About 41 percent of trans people have attempted suicide.
This year's theme is #TransResistance. As TSER writes on their site:
"In the increasingly transphobic global political climate, we must use our newfound visibility to mobilize trans people against oppression. This recognizes that while visibility is important, we must take action against transphobia. Visibility is not enough alone to bring transgender liberation. However, we can use visibility as a vital tool for transgender justice."